Feedback from Previous Occupants 2010

The following feedback was received from previous occupants of the apartments.
If you wish to take up any of the people below as references, contact
details can be supplied.

The view from the apartment is so stunning day & night.
I actually insisted on having breakfast on the patio, but that involved
2 jumpers + coat, no regrets though.

Wonder if you're interested in our restaurant find. A really nice one
less than 15 mins drive away. It's the restaurant in Villa Crespi
www.villacrespi.it
. It's a place for special occasion. Excellent food and service,
rather pricey but really worth it. It was unfortunate we went there
for lunch on our first day. That sort of set our standard which was
so hard to meet. So we went back there for dinner on our last evening,
that blew our budget..

Another good one is Ristorante Casabella
www.isola-pescatori.it
. We were fortunate to get the last available table during an island
hopping tour. We were expecting some really tourist type food, but
this one surprised us. I think it will be fantastic in the summer when
you can sit outside on the deck. Anyway, just the thought makes me miss the
area already.

We wanted a special holiday to celebrate our 30th Wedding
Anniversary and we could not have made a better choice than staying at Dolce
Vita for the fortnight. The views and scenery were amazing. From
waking up in the morning and looking at the sun shining on Monte Rosa whilst
lying in bed, to watching the sun go down whilst enjoying dinner on the terrace.

The apartment was perfect - light and airy with plenty of storage space.

We are very grateful to you for the comprehensive guide you provided before
we arrived. It was extremely useful to have reviews of the local
restaurants so we could have an idea of the type of meal we could expect
when we ate out. We really appreciated the walks and the details were
very helpful - Mark followed the map and Gill followed the instructions!
We particularly enjoyed the walk on the other side of the lake.

We enjoyed visiting the local church Madonna della Bocciola at Vacciago.
Other guests may find it useful to know that the time of the Sunday
mass during the summer is at 10 o'clock and that the church is only 6 minutes
drive away. We tried to find out about local churches and mass times
before we left England without success.

Guests may be interested to know that a good holiday book to bring with them
is
Other
People's Secrets written by Louise Candlish just recently
published. It is set in San Giulio. I was lucky enough to discover
this book and read it whilst on holiday. [HHLO
response: Louise Candlish booked through us, and stayed in Orta San Giulio
in June 2009. Click
here
for the book on amazon.co.uk].

Thank you once again for all your help and for providing such lovely
accommodation. We can't wait to come back!

Villa Giovanetti is an excellent location for this lovely town
and area, with the bonus of a lakeside garden facing the very pretty island
in the lake. The Rough Guide to the Italian Lakes puts Orta San Giulio as
number 1 of their '15 things not to miss', and we would definitely agree.
Although touristy, it is not overly so, nor burdened with excessive numbers
of visitors (the vast majority of whom seem to leave by about 5pm). The tourists
do mean that there is a wide choice of restaurants and bars, all within easy
walking distance of the apartment.

The Villa provides good sized, well decorated rooms and well appointed bathrooms.
The small kitchen was fully stocked, except that the toaster was missing
when we visited (had we really needed one, our text to the agent produced
a rapid response that we'd be reimbursed if we picked one up at a nearby
supermarket). The beds were comfortable although, for us at least, the pillows
were on the soft side. For a quiet day or evening, there were plenty of games,
DVDs and English books. There was a little noise from the road next to the
villa, although it was generally quiet overnight.

Lots of information was provided about places to visit and to eat, and we
were particularly impressed with the detailed descriptions for enough walks
to last the whole week. Be warned, though, the paths can be steep - repaid
by some beautiful views or just a quiet beer in a local cafe.

If this sounds a bit like an advert, it just reflects how much we enjoyed
the villa and our holiday.

G. & S. T
Wimborne, Dorset, U.K.
Stayed in Villa Giovanetti

Thank you - I had a great birthday at Lake Orta. The view from our apartment
window was beautiful. A very relaxing place to be.

We had a lovely stay at Villa Gelsomina. Were blown away by the views
from our apartment. The apartment was lovely and ideal for our stay, the
children loved Miami beach and we did 3 of your walks, particularly enjoying
the Tre Montagnette and getting back before our teenage daughters were up.

We had an excellent time in Orta, made even better by the top class
accomodation at Villa Giovanetti which was not only excellently positioned,
it is also incredibly well appointed and the garden must rival the best in
the whole town. We may well be back!

After such an enjoyable and relaxing holiday it has been quite
difficult readjusting to "normality" back here in Bucks. We loved the area,
and never felt the need to travel very far from Pella. Casa Fiori was very
clean and comfortable - everything we could possibly want, and our teenage
son very much enjoyed having his own area on the first floor.

The information pack was very helpful, and during the course of the week
we discovered some great places to walk/bathe/sit and watch the world go
by. People we met in the locality were friendly helpful. We spent much of
our time enjoying the views, the weather and savouring the Italian way. Even
got to a concert on our last evening which was an unexpected treat.

Thank you very much, we are already thinking how good it would be to go back.

Yes we really did have a wonderful time at Lake Orta. We enjoyed our
stay very much. We liked the appartment, in a more than amazing environment,
and the contact with our neighbours was more than good. Thank you for your
useful information!

We did enjoy our holiday despite some stormy weather. Casa Bartula together
with Giampiero and Paola were excellent hosts and we did not lack much. The
best part was the tranquillity of the area and of course the view from the
bedroom balcony. Lake Orta is our lake and we loved the boat trips on it.
We hope to visit the region again.

We have just returned from Italy via France. We had a wonderful
time at Lake Orta and enjoyed staying in the apartment very much. We found
it most comfortable and very thoughtfully equipped.

I'd like to have let other apartment users know about the nearby dairy/farm
outlet we discovered but I forgot to mention it when we wrote our feedback
in the visitors book at the apartment. When you turn right on to the road
by the shrine, the dairy is on the left a little way down the road
[just before Bolzano Novarese]. We bought
some lovely yoghurt and cheese there, and it's convenient for milk too. The
people are helpful and pleasant and deserve a mention if you wanted to support
local enterprises. [HHLO response: as a result of
you pointing this out, we have now added this to our
shops page, our new page on local
food, and to the location packs for Villa Gelsomina,
Casa Miralago and Casa Bartula, all with links to the dairy's own web site,
so many thanks!]

Your ideas for day trips were great; we did the Monte Rosa funicular, the
little railway to Santa Maria Maggiore and the Isola Bella. We found the
Miami Beach by doing Walk One, but it was very crowded so we didn't actually
use it. The Wooden Spoon was fantastic and we also enjoyed eating at the
Venus restaurant in Orta S G - the pizzas were good and the view of the lake
and the ducks and boats was even better.

We had a lovely time in Orta and really enjoyed the three concerts
[at the annual Festival of Musica Antica]
we went to during the week. The flat was very comfortable and
it was lovely experiencing more of the every day life of the village. There
was a very nice grocer just along the way from our flat and the service at
Il Buon Gustaio, a delicatessen, by Piazza Ragazzoni was excellent.

We had an absolutely fantastic time at Lake Orta. The weather was beautiful.
The people were lovely. And the place was like a little piece of heaven on
earth. Our accomodation was perfect.We loved it. It was ideally located,
comfortable and had great character. It suited us perfect. We will definitely
be going back to this beautiful part of the world. Thanks for everything
William.

We had a fantastic time at the lovely Villa Giovanetti. Weather turned out
good despite some bad long range forecasts before we left. Wedding went well
and just about all of the wedding guests came to have a look at house and
wonderful gardens at some time or another. All were very impressed and felt
it was excellent value for money, so hopefully you may get some more bookings
as a result!!

So thanks again for a thoroughly enjoyable holiday and we will hopefully
use the house again in the future.

B & D
Worcestershire, U.K.
Stayed in Villa Giovanetti

My daughter and I had a really wonderful holiday at Lake Orta. We had
stayed in San Giulio 8 years ago and were delighted to find that it has remained
just as we remembered it - a little paradise! The apartment suited us perfectly
- it was a great base, spotlessly clean and the lovely view was a surprise!
Max and his son were very helpful too.

... And the information you provide on your website and welcome pack are
excellent!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in both Ciao Italia and Panorama in April.
Both apartments were very well appointed and the views are magnifico!

H. & K. Weir,
Longueville, New South Wales, Australia
Stayed in Villa Gelsomina in April
2010

We had a fantastic time at Orta San Giulio. The scenery, weather and
the people were excellent. The Villa was ideal and well placed for easy access
to the town and all its Cafe/Bars. We completed two of the walks you provided
and were not disappointed with the views that they gave us. A place I would
certainly revisit or recommend to my friends.